


Bouquet

by TiPoLover_22



Category: Trolls (Movies 2016 2020), Trolls: The Beat Goes On (Cartoon), Trolls: TrollsTopia (Cartoon)
Genre: Branch and Poppy are seniors in high school, Branch becomes a teen dad!!!, F/F, F/M, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Poppy becomes a teen mom!!!, Teen mother au, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-16 00:08:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29444595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TiPoLover_22/pseuds/TiPoLover_22
Summary: Poppy was the kind of girl who liked everything to go her way. And, for the most part, it always did. She had great, loyal friends, good grades in all her classes, and her long time crush, Creek Waters, was sure to be hers this senior year! But everything changed the night of her Back To School Bash at her house. You see, she had this friend that wasn't really her friends, but he was going to be. Branch Bouquet. He was quiet, introverted, reserved, kept to himself, basically everything Poppy wasn't used to. She just couldn't understand people who didn't want to be open to the people around them. It came so naturally to to her! So, obviously, she wanted to help him. She invited him to every party since he had started going to her school in the middle of Junior year. He never came to a single one. And she wasn't about to let the same happen with her Back To School Bash. She advised an epic plan to get him there and it WORKED! He stayed for a drink, they talked, they laughed, they... OH GAH! They slept together! That was not what was supposed to happen! It's ok. It's ok! She can just pretend it never happened. Right?
Relationships: Branch/Queen Poppy (Trolls), Chenille/DJ Suki
Comments: 7
Kudos: 11





	Bouquet

**Author's Note:**

> Well, look who's back to writing Trolls fanfiction!!! ME!!! A new one. And not the three others I need to finish...  
> BUT ANYWAY!!!!! I hope you guys like this new one. It came to me as a small idea I never really thought I would do anything to, but here's the first chapter!!! My friend, Geekgirles, I'm sure you all know her, she's helping me with the spanish parts, so that's all her! Thank you my dear friend for helping make this fic perfect!

Today was the day! Branch Bouquet would definitely be going to her Welcome Back to School party tonight. Two weeks into the year sounds a bit late for her, but last friday there was a rainstorm that had totally ruined all her plans! But, fate happens for a reason. Cause if she had planned it last week, there wasn’t even a small slither of a chance of Branch coming. She had checked the weather every day for a week. Nothing but clear skies today. And she had the perfect leverage for Branch to come over. She giggled as she thought about it, taking out his invitation as she made her way towards him. She had to get to him before he got to his truck.

“Hi, Branch!”

Oh, God no. No, no, no! Branch thought he was safe. All day he had seen her handing out invitation after invitation. Even when they were sitting next to each other in class! He was so sure she had finally given up on trying to get him to come to a party. He sighed as he turned to Poppy Ha-ri King. 

Poppy Ha-ri King. She was like the empress of this school. She always got good grades. Always had a smile on her face. Always kind. Always around her stupid, annoying, equeally peppy friends. Always had money due to her father being the mayor. Always had everything going for her. She had it all. It really made Branch wonder why on earth she wanted him to be her friend so badly. 

“Hello, Poppy,” he tried to spit with venom. The most it sounded like, though, was a bit of annoyance. 

“You’ll never guess what?!” She smiled up at him as she followed him to his truck. 

Branch put on an equally as annoying smile. “You saw a rainbow?!”

“Unfortunately, no,” Poppy answered, despite his condescending tone. “But! It just so happens, there’s a rainbow in the invitation I’m about to give you!” She stopped him in his tracks, presenting the invitation. 

Branch looked at the yellow envelope. He knew for a fact if he opened it, glitter would shoot right at his face. And he of all people knew how hard it was getting glitter off of things. So, before Poppy could open it, he snatched it from her hand. “Thanks for inviting me, Poppy. Again. But, I think we both know what my answer is.” He smirked down at her, ready for the fake tears to fall. 

“Indeed we do, Pal,” she answered while patting his shoulder. “I guess I’ll see you on Monday, then.” She started walking away. 

“Wa-wa-wa-wait! What?!” She turned to him with an innocent smile. “No begging? No pleading? No-no-no shitty attempts of reverse psychology to get me to go? You’re just going to let me not come?” He couldn’t believe this! This was not how these interactions went. 

Poppy shook her head. “It’s your choice to come or not, Branch. I’m not going to force you.”

“Oh, and you came up with this revelation only a week after you tried to force me to come last time?”

“I guess so.” 

He didn’t like her cheery attitude. “What’s your game here, Ha-ri?” 

“No game. Just realizing boundaries and what not,” she waved off. 

“Alright.” He still didn’t believe her. Not one bit. But…. “Well, I have to get home now.”

“I’m sure you do,” she smiled up at him. 

Branch wasn’t sure if this smile was sincere. “I do.” 

“I’m sure of it!” 

He glared down at her. “Bye, Poppy.” He walked away from her faster than he cared to admit. Why did he feel a sense of unease at the moment? 

“Bye, Branch,” she called out to him. Watching him go filled her with excitement knowing exactly what she had planned. Oh, he was so going to be at the party. 

“Let me guess,” someone said behind her. She turned to find her friend with beautiful auburn dreadlocks tied above her head. “Operation Get Branch to a Party is a go?”

“Suki!” Poppy embraced her friend. Suki Tanaka was basically her best friend forever until the end of freaking time!!! They had known each other since the pre-k days. Poppy had accidentally dropped her apple caprisun and before she could start to cry about it, this nice girl with braids offered to share her orange juice. That was the day the two had become besties. And how Poppy found out she was allergic to oranges. 

“Girl, it’s only been six minutes since we’ve seen each other!” 

“But you love my hugs?!” Poppy gave her best puppy eyes.

Suki rolled her eyes. “Anywho. You really think this plan is gonna work.”

“Of course it’s gonna work! Trust me!” 

“Ok, I’ll trust you! Did you have to flirt with him for three minutes, though? Just hand him the invitation, dude! It’s that easy!”

“We were not flirting,” Poppy defended. “I was just having a simple chat with one of my friends. Much like right now,” she pointed out. “Besides! We all both know my heart belongs to-”

“Creek! Hey!” Suki called over her bestie’s long time crush. She chuckled at Poppy’s embarrassed squeak. “We were just talking about you, dude!” 

Poppy turned to see the man of her dreams walk towards them. Creek Waters was a very kind and calm guy. Always had the right advice and knew just what to say to make you feel better. Knew certain yoga poses to get your body feeling better too! Not to mention he was handsome with his tanned skin and his stubble just the right length. He even kept his colorful hair up in a bun! Oh, he was so perfect. Poppy really needed to get over herself and ask him out already. 

“Hello, Suki,” Creek tried, and failed, to pronounce Suki’s name right. She wished he would just say it like everyone else. Only her mom and dad knew how to pronounce it right. “Hello, Poppy! You’re a little pink there, love,” he teased, poking one of her chubby cheeks. 

Poppy couldn’t help but giggle. He was such a charmer. “You’re coming to my party tonight, right?” 

“Now why on earth would I miss out on such an amazing party?! I can’t think of a single reason why!” 

Poppy giggled at his dramatics. “I’ll see you at the party, Creek.” 

“And I’ll see you,” he said, booping her nose with his finger. 

Poppy couldn’t help but giggle again. Her giddiness fell at Suki’s next words. 

“Jesus, you need to fuck him already!” Poppy sent her a mock glare. “I’m serious! You two are so obviously attracted to each other! Just hookup already!”

“I don’t want Creek to be just a hookup,” Poppy explained as she started heading towards her car. “I want things to be real between us. He’s very dear to me. I don’t want him to be just a one night stand at one of my parties! I want to be with him. We would make the perfect couple!” 

Suki really worried about Poppy when it came to Creek. To Suki, he didn’t really seem like the kind of guy to settle down in the way Poppy wanted him to. In fact, Suki was sure he smoked weed to stay that calm. Not that it was illegal here, but it was definitely illegal for a minor. Which they all were. And it’s not like she could say anything about it since they all would drink at Poppy’s parties. But Creek was, in a way, immature. He didn’t have any dreams like Poppy or Suki or any of their friends. He never talked of plans for the future. She was sure Creek thought he could just pull off this guru schtick forever. Even so, she couldn’t tell Poppy this. Poppy lived in a world where everything went her way, so… “I’m sure you two would. You won’t know that until you ask him out though.”

Poppy groaned. “I haven’t had a real boyfriend since…” She tried to think about who she had dated before. 

“Since Guy came out,” Suki suggested. 

“Yeah, that’s it!” 

Poppy had always thought she and Guy Diamond would be middle school sweethearts since they started going out in eighth grade. She loved his silver hair, his accent, his use of glitter in all of his styles, and his cheery attitude that rivaled hers. Oh, they were so perfect! 

...But then sophomore year came around and Guy told her that he was gay and that he had only been dating her to surpress those feelings. He told her how horrible he felt to do this to her and that he was such a horrible friend and an even more horrible boyfriend. Poppy, of course, forgave him. He was in a happy relationship with some guy named Arabesque from another school. They were so cute, it almost washed away the hurt. Almost. Of course they were still friends! She loved him too much to not be in his life. 

“That wasn’t a real relationship, though.”

“No, I guess it wasn’t. I haven’t really taken anyone else seriously since him. I don’t even remember who my first time was!”

“I thought it was, uh,” Suki thought about it. “Rudy? Rudy right?”

“Oh, yeah! He and Satin have been together for so long it’s like it never happened!” Poppy laughed. 

“It’s only been two years,” Suki shoved her shoulder a bit. 

“But aren’t they just so cute!”

“Yeah, I guess they are. I hope he’s not cheating on her in that little college of his.” 

“I doubt it. He’s too loyal!” Poppy pressed the button that unlocked her sparkly pink car. “You’re coming with me, right? I don’t have to drop you off at home?” 

“Nope! My dad says I can be home whenever. Just remember not to get too defenseless.” 

“Alright!” Poppy cheered. “Party decorations here we come!” 

# 🍼 💐 🍼 💐

He made it home in seven minutes. Good. It gave him time to start his chores. He always got a thrill knowing a day would go his way. First, Poppy didn’t really bug him at all today, which didn’t hurt. Then, he got all his homework done before lunch ended, which only left Aquatic science’s since it was the last class of the day. Also, everyone left him alone during lunch, aside from the hi from Poppy. And, in the end, she didn’t try to bug him to come to her stupid party. Overall it was a normal, boring day. He loved it. 

He got out of his truck and walked up to his house. 

His house. 

He wished it could really be his. His grandma had left it to him when she died but it was still under his mom’s name until he turned eighteen. Something she didn’t deserve. 

Opening the door to an empty house stopped hurting after a year, but that didn’t mean anything when he still didn’t have the heart to move any of the furniture. In fact, he hadn’t changed a single thing since she died. He still had her old front-projection tv. All the photos of old family members scattered around the wall. Her old knick knacks and figurines on the shelves hung all around the house. He hadn’t moved a thing. And, honestly, he didn’t plan on changing that. 

He headed to the kitchen to start his evening. 

First he would wash the dishes. He had made himself breakfast that morning so the pan he needed for his dinner tonight was covered in egg, oil, and cheese. He planned on making some carne con chile and some beans on the side. It would have to last him for the weekend. So he definitely needed the entire pan. 

Next, he would sweep and mop the floors. He had to do that daily since his grandma had never been a big fan of carpet and wooden floors gathered dust fast. His grandma had loved lemon scented lysol and, in the end, he ended up loving it too. Lemon was just an amazing scent. 

Then he would start making his dinner. He always bought the meat pre-chopped. It saved him some time and all he had to do was wait for the tomatoes and peppers to boil. Then he would blend them and add the spicy broth to the already cooked meat. Buying beans from a can wasn’t his favorite thing, but he didn’t have the time to boil raw ones. He needed to eat early so that his food would be fully digested when it was time to sleep. 

Finally, he’d wash his clothes. He, of course, separated them by color and material. Just like his grandma had taught him. He would only be able to rest for about half an hour before having to put the clothes to dry and the next batch to wash. Then another half hour would go by of him watching some tv before he had to put the next batch to dry, the next batch to wash, and start folding what was already clean, and so on and so forth until it was all folded and put away. 

Now, it was 9:30. Time to sleep. All those hours passed by in a flash. Just like he knew they would. And the next day was all planned out too. He would wake up at seven in the morning, make his breakfast, and then he’d be studying by 8:30. Which was good, too, since there was a calculus test on monday. Why there was a test in their third week of school, he didn’t know. A quiz would have been nice. But their teacher was monologuing about how they were already behind, so he would have to deal with it. 

On his way to his bed, he didn’t know why, but a sense of unease fell over him. And when he looked at his satchel right on his nightstand, it grew even more. He never did this. This was not part of his day. But he grabbed his satchel and looked through it’s contents. His notes weren’t in there. His notes weren’t in there. 

He looked back on the day. He had written his notes down and had tried to get out of class as soon as the bell rang. But then… But then…

Poppy asked to borrow them cause she hadn’t been paying attention and promised to give them to him by the end of the day. Which means… which means…

His notes were in her backpack… In her house… Where the party was going on. 

He immediately reached for his phone. It picked up on the third ring. 

“Branch! My man! You are right on time!”

“Oh, like you knew I was gonna call you?!” He could hear chattering and loud music in the background. The party was definitely in full swing. 

“Yeah, well, I figured after you realized your notes were gone, coming to my place wouldn’t sound so bad!” 

He could literally hear the cheeky grin in her voice. “I’m not coming to get it right now! I’ll be there in the morning,” he lied. 

“Oh, Branch,” Poppy laughed. Like she knew something. “I know you’re not gonna come get it in the morning,” she said, slowly, as if talking to a child. “Cause then your whole day would be thrown off. Wouldn’t it?” 

He was literally fuming now. How dare she?!... How could she?!... AAAAAAHHHH!!!! “I’ll be there in ten minutes,” he said through gritted teeth. Then he hung up in the middle of her goodbye. “That little-,” he cut himself off to scream into his pillow. No wonder she just let him go! No wonder there was no begging or pleading! Gah! Oh, whatever she was drinking sure made her confident. He rushed to the door, grabbed his keys from the hook, and slammed the door shut on his way out. 

# 🍼 💐 🍼 💐

Poppy lightly glared at the phone. How dare he hang up before she could say goodbye!

“Was that Branch?” 

Poppy turned to her silver haired friend, whose letterman had a silver glitter streak on each arm. It was how Guy ordered his letterman for the Drama club. Poppy’s was pink and sparkly all over. “Yes, it was,” she announced happily. “He said he’d be here in ten minutes.” 

“I cannot believe your plan worked!” Smidge laughed, coming into the conversation. “He really does care about his schedules!”

Sarahi “Smidge” Fernandez. Poppy loved Smidge to death! And she’s pretty sure she never would’ve met her if her family hadn’t won the lottery and bought themselves a nice little 2-story here in Trollstown. You see, Smidge’s dad was always sure one day he would win the lottery. Smidge told her how he would buy one every single day without fail. She used to think it was pointless, wasting money on a lottery ticket instead of something to eat. But then, when she was twelve, she was called to the office in the middle of a school day. Her dad was silent as they made their way home and when they did, he told her, eyes full of tears, to start packing because they were finally getting out of there. Smidge had been really confused until he held up the check. Then she started crying too. After that, it was like their problems were a distant memory. Smidge started her school year with a new look and a very accepting father who was able to finally pay for hormone therapy. And now here she was. One of Poppy King’s best friends! Poppy wouldn’t have it any other way. 

“I know, right?!” Poppy couldn’t help but laugh too. “Oh, I can’t wait until he gets here! He’s gonna realize how fun my parties are and how silly he’s been not coming to them!” 

“Seriously,” two people said in unison. 

Poppy turned to her friends, Satin and Chenille Tyg. They were twins! And really cool ones too. They had a knack for fashion, especially since their mom owned a fashion boutique. Her designs weren’t that popular around the country, but they were in this city! So their mother made a good living for them. But that wasn’t enough for the twins. They wanted their designs to be see by the world. And they knew, one day, they would definitely make it. 

“Your parties are the greatest thing,” Chenille complimented. 

“I don’t understand why he’s so hellbent on avoiding them,” Satin agreed, and they never agreed on anything. 

“And you even have a room for those who want to keep it a little less wild,” Biggie added. 

Benjamin “Biggie” Blue was someone Poppy had known since fifth grade. He was sensitive, therefore, he carried an emotional support animal all his life. And that animal happened to be Mr. Dinkles, the Chinchilla. Ten year old Poppy had thought it was the cutest and coolest thing and had known she had to make Biggie her friend. It wasn’t that hard to befriend him cause along with being sensitive, he was extremely nice! They had gotten along just fine.

“I honestly just turn off my hearing aids if it gets too loud,” Fuzzbert admitted while signing. 

Fuzzbert had been a bit harder to befriend. Poppy had met him seventh grade, before he got his hearing aids and only used sign language. She didn’t want to have to befriend him through his interprotater, so she asked her dad if she could take some signing classes. The first time they had been able to have an actual conversation together, Fuzzbert had actually shed some tears. He had explained to her that most people would just drift away from him because he couldn’t talk like everyone else. She was the first able-bodied person to try and learn sign language for him. They had been friends ever since. 

“I don’t think it gets loud enough!” A tall dude with blue, twisted dreads placed his elbow on her head with a laugh. 

Cooper G. Ralph. He was Poppy’s adoptive cousin on her dad’s side. So, they basically knew each other since they were babies! It was almost like they were brother and sister! Poppy couldn’t imagine life without him. 

“I think Cooper’s right, guys,” Suki agreed. “We need to get this party louder!” 

“Okay, Suki,” Poppy smirked. “Ready to do your thing?” 

“You know I am!” 

Suki made her way to the living room. It was time this party started. 

# 🍼 💐 🍼 💐

Branch pulled up to the party in exactly ten minutes. And as he looked at the house, all the lights and sound suddenly went out. Branch immediately rushed out of his car! He knew a blackout when he saw one and he had to make sure Poppy was ok! It wasn’t even a few seconds later, though, when disco lights started pouring out of the windows and the music started blasting louder than his ears cared for. That had to be Suki. He knew, vaguely, that she wanted to be a DJ. He should’ve known this party would be loud. 

He took his phone out and called Poppy. It was a few rings before she answered. “What up, Branch!”

He didn’t know how he could tell, but her voice sounded more bubbly than usual. Oh, god, she was tipsy, wasn’t she? “Bring me my notes,” he ordered. 

She laughed in the phone so loud she might as well have laughed in his face. “Come and get them! I’ll be in the kitchen!” She hung up before he could say another word. 

Gah, he wished so badly that he could throw his phone on the floor right now. But he needed this phone. So he took a deep breath...and headed for the entrance. 

It was weird being here. Entering the door, he was met with darkness. The only lights were the disco lights and that didn’t give him enough light to see who was who. Everyone seemed to recognize him, though. There were gasps of his name and slacked jaws. Honestly, he found it kind of funny how they all parted like the red sea as he walked by. But, that humor wasn’t as strong as the unease he felt being in a dark room with intoxicated people he didn’t know. It reminded him of… 

He just needed to get to the kitchen. And, from where he was, he could see there was actual light there. He took another deep breath when he made it. Now he just had to find Poppy. 

And there she was, talking to Smidge. When he made it to the small “bar” they were sitting at, Smidge was the first to notice him. “Aah, ¿¡mira quién está aquí?!” She laughed. 

He glared at her. “I’m here for my notes!” 

Poppy giggled. “I don’t have them with me.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” He looked around the kitchen. There was no backpack in sight. All of his anger dissipated into exhaustion. “You know what, Poppy? I’ll be back in the morning.” And with that, he turned back the way he came. What he didn’t expect was for Poppy to grab his arm before he could make it out the kitchen. 

“No! Please don’t go! You just got here!” She hugged his arm tighter. “Have a drink! Sing a song! Play a game! Sit down and just listen to the music! Just don’t go!” She looked up at him with tears threatening to fall. 

“Stop doing that!” Oh, gah! He needed to look away! But her eyes were just too cute and shiny at the moment. He was already losing his nerves! Not to mention he was a teenager and her breasts were pressed against him! He immediately pushed her away at arms length. “Is it really that important to you that I stay here?” She nodded quickly, her puppy eyes still raging. 

If he left right now, she would never bug him again. She would finally realize he found her annoying and childish and would leave him alone forever. She would never talk to him again or make him another invitation. He would be free of her. Forever. Was he ok with that? 

He sighed. “Fine.” Her eyes widened as he let her shoulders go. “I’ll stay for fifteen minutes.”

“An hour,” Poppy tried to negotiate. 

“Poppy,” Branch warned. 

“Forty-five minutes?” She smiled up at him, hopeful. 

And Branch wasn’t particularly immune to it. “Thirty minutes,” he agreed. “I still have a schedule to keep tomorrow.” 

“Ok!” Poppy’s trademark smile was back on her face. “Ok! Wh-what should we do?!”

“I’m gonna sit down and just listen to the music.” He made his way back to the bar. 

“Aw, you chose the boring option!” Poppy whined. 

“You knew I would,” He smirked at her. She only stuck her tongue at him. 

Smidge was already gone by the time he got to the bar, so he took her spot as Poppy sat on hers.“Oooh” Poppy exclaimed as she sat down. “You should try this!” She reached for a plastic cup and poured him some of the bottle she had been drinking. “It’s so good!”

Branch hesitantly took the cup. “What is it?” 

“It’s Soju,” Poppy explained. “My mom sent it to me from Korea for the party. Which was supposed to be last week,” she muttered the last part into the bottle before drinking some. 

“How do you even get away with throwing parties all the time?” He was honestly curious. His mom was never home, so it would be easy for him to throw one. If he actually wanted to. 

Poppy giggled. “My dad lets me have them. He’ll usually hire some help to clean up afterwards. Besides! He’s on a golfing trip this weekend! He said to have fun, so I am!” 

Branch’s eye twitched. Rich kid problems. Gah! Why did he like her again?! No, wait! He did not like her! Not one bit! To get over his internal embarrassment, he took a drink of the Soju. He immediately wanted to spit it out. Unfortunately, he instinctively swallowed. “Is this alcohol?!” Poppy nodded like it was the most obvious thing. Branch had never drank alcohol before. He knew what alcohol could do to a person, if his mom’s ex was anything to go by. He put the drink down and scooted it away from him. 

“You don’t like it?!” Oh, gah, her eyes were watering again. 

“No,” he yelled in a panic. Her eyes watered more. “I mean, No, I do like it,” he amended, trying to ease her worries. “I’m just not that thirsty,” he lied. 

“Oh, ok.” The water left her eyes, but she still looked disappointed. 

Branch took another drink to try and forget his embarrassment, momentarily forgetting it was alcohol. Yeah, he should really stop drinking it if he planned on driving home in a bit. Poppy was staying silent now Branch honestly had no clue what to do now that he was sitting just here. Listening to the music was ok, Suki really knew how to play a song. Other than that, they sat there in awkward silence for a few minutes until Poppy finally spoke. 

“Why do you like schedules so much,” Poppy asked. “It seems so boring having to follow a schedule. Why not just let life happen?” 

Branch thought about it as he took another drink. This stuff actually wasn’t so bad, but he should still watch how much he drank. “Life...has already happened too much for me,” he answered. “Now I just want to make sure it never catches me off guard.” 

“What does that mean?” Poppy took a long swig, waiting for his answer. 

“It’s, uh, pretty obvious I’m not from your world, Poppy.” He took a nice long sip too. 

“My world?”

“You know, the one where you never have to worry about what happens next.” He took another drink. “You have the luxury of predictability.”

“Ok, that’s not true! I don’t know what’s gonna happen next. I always just hope for the best!”

“And you have that luxury,” Branch said. “I don’t. I have to prepare for the worst. Cause that’s always what happens to people like me.” He took another long drink. It was empty by the time he was done. 

Poppy noticed this. “I’ll get you your own bottle.” There was another drink in front of him before he knew it. He instinctively took a sip. “You know, there’s nothing wrong with having a little bit of hope.”

“Hope isn’t a plan, though.” He drank. “The world isn’t full of cupcakes and rainbows like you think. Bad things happen and there’s nothing you can do about it.” 

Poppy sputtered. And maybe it was the alcohol in her, but she was a bit angry now. “Hey! I know it’s not all cupcakes and’ rainbows! But I’d rather go through life thinking that it mostly is than being like you!” She took an angry swig of her drink. “You don’t talk to anybody, you don’t interact with anyone, and you’re always in such a bad mood-”

“Ssshhh!” Branch held up a finger while nursing his drink. “This is my favorite song.” 

Poppy listened to the lyrics for a second before snorting. “You like Justin Timberlake?” She looked at him only to find that he wasn’t even trying to listen to the music. “You don’t like him, do you? You just said that so I’d stop talking!” He didn’t confirm or deny it, but she could see a hint of a smirk on his face. “Ugh!” She lightly punched his arm. “What kind of music do you like, anyway.” 

“I will listen to anything,” Branch admitted, slowly. This was weird. He had never just sat down and talked to Poppy unless it was for class. He, of course, knew everything about her. She had always made sure to share information about herself with anyone she talked to. He, though, never shared anything with her. It was starting to get warm in here. 

Poppy seemed skeptical. “Even Country?” 

Branch snorted before taking a drink. “I love Country.”

“No!” Poppy couldn’t believe it!

“Yes,” he laughed. “My aunt plays it all the time. She’s the one who introduced me to it. And I’m not talking about the horrible, misogynistic crap they make now. I’m talking about real Country. Like Rascal Flatts a-a-and George Strait! That’s Country! Not whatever the hell they’re making now.” 

“I do like Jolene,” Poppy admitted. 

“That’s Country!” He pointed at her with the tip of the bottle before bringing it to his lips. “Dolly Parton’s my aunt’s favorite musician.” 

Poppy honestly never heard Branch speak this much. Except for school subjects, of course. But never about himself. She wanted to know more. She opened her mouth for the next question. 

“Poppy!” Both she and Branch snapped their heads towards a smirking Smidge. 

“Hey, Smidge, what’s up?” 

“There’s, uh, someone waiting for you out in the back,” she giggled. “Someone tall, handsome, and colorful!”

Branch knew exactly who she was talking about. Creek Waters. His tormentor. Looking at the time, it had only been 28 minutes since they sat down, so he would have to leave soon anyway. This was no doubt the night Poppy and Creek would end up together. They would be voted the Cutest Couple in the school year book and act all gushy and romantic throughout the year, go to the same college, following both their dreams side by side, and grow up to get married and have two beautiful children by the time the ten year reunion would take place because their school was cheesy like that and Branch would just be old and sad wondering what would have happened if he had just told her his feel-

“Actually, Smidge, can you tell him it’s gonna be a while,” Poppy interrupted his thoughts. He looked at her surprised. “I’m kind of talking with Branch right now.”

Even Smidge looked surprised. “Are you sure?” 

Poppy nodded. She might be a bit tipsy at the moment, but she knew what she wanted. And that was to know a bit more about Branch. 

“Alright,” she accepted her friend's answer. “I’ll just...go tell him you said that.” She left the two teens, confused. 

Poppy happily waved goodbye before turning back to Branch. “You said Dolly Parton was her favorite, right?” She took a drink. 

Branch’s heart was soaring at the moment. Everyone knew about Poppy’s crush on Creek. Hell, even Creek! And she had just blown him off to talk to him. He could feel his face heating up and his body go warm all over. Oh, she was such an amazing person. He felt a smile growing on his face. “Yeah,” he answered. 

So they talked about nothing but music for they didn’t know how long. All they really knew was that it was seven bottles of soju later and they were leaning in really close. Branch had finally remembered his notes. 

“M-m-m-my notessss,” he slurred out. “That’s what I came here forrrr.” 

Poppy couldn’t stop giggling. “Your notes! I totally forgot about them.” She took another drink from her bottle. “We should def- def-...definitely go get those. They’re up in my room.” 

Poppy tried getting up, but felt a bit woozy and swayed a bit. Branch, thinking she was going to fall, quickly got up to help her steady, but didn’t account that he would feel woozy too, causing them to trip a bit forward and almost fall. They had laughed it off and the last thing Branch could remember was walking towards the staircase that led to her room.

# 🍼 💐 🍼 💐

He woke up in the morning with the fiercest headache he had ever felt. Not to mention everything seemed so bright. And loud! He wanted to bury his face deeper into the really soft pillow his head was on. It’s weird. He didn’t remember his pillows being this soft. Or his blanket being this cozy. Or his bed being this...cloudy? He couldn’t find the right word for it right now, he was too drowsy. All in all, this was the most amazing his bed had felt since…

He slightly opened his eyes, wondering why the alarm clock his grandma had given him hadn’t woken him up. But there was no clock on his burgundy finished wooden nightstand. In fact, there wasn’t even a burgundy finished wooden nightstand! He looked at the white walls of the room filled with knick knacks that weren’t his and the only thing he could think was, ‘Those aren’t my warm green walls’. His body was screaming at him to just stay laying down but his mind was telling him that something was really wrong here. He sat up, instantly regretting it because it was cold. It took him a second to register that he had no shirt on. He groggily looked around the room until his eyes landed on the spot next to him in bed. He recognized that auburn to magenta ombre hair anywhere. 

“Oh, shit!” He yelled and instinctively tried to push himself away. It wasn’t exactly the best thing to do, seeing as he fell off the bed dragging the blanket with him. 

Poppy could not believe what she was waking up to! None of her hookups had ever been rude enough to wake her up by pulling the blanket off of her. She ignored her aching head and body to give this person a piece of her mind. “What is your-” Her eyes widened at the sight of him. 

Branch watched on as Poppy, with the strength he didn’t know she had, pulled the blanket away from him and covered her entire body. “Shit. Shit, shit, shit!” With each curse, his voice got louder. 

All the while, Poppy was screaming her own worries. “Oh, my gah! Oh, my gah! Oh, my gah!” 

Branch found his boxers first, pulling them up as quickly as possible. His pants weren’t that far from reach so he tried to grab those next, tripping in the process. 

“You’re still in here?! Get out!”

“I’m trying!” He rushed to put his shirt on and grab his shoes. Luckily, he could feel his phone and truck keys still in his pockets. He was about to rush out the door until he remembered what he had come for last night. He took a deep breath. “Poppy.” 

“What?!” Why was he still here?! 

“My notes.” He watched as her bare arm peaked it’s way out of the blanket to point towards the right of the room. Right where her sparkly pink backpack was. He rummaged through it a bit until he found his notes. Then, he finally got out of there. He rushed down the hall, down the stairs, and out the door with a slam. 

# 🍼 💐 🍼 💐

Suki woke up when she heard the door slam. She sat up, groggily looking at her surroundings. Her friends were all sleeping on the floor or the couch like her. There was trash and plastic cups everywhere. All over the coffee table, all over the small table under the flat screen, even some on the window sill. Wait, who was that outside? No, that couldn't be him! That did look like his truck, though. Ugh, she was too tired for this! She let her body fall back on the couch. She would need a good sleep if she planned on helping Poppy with this mess.

**Author's Note:**

> I really hoped you all liked the first chapter! Don't be afraid to leave a comment, even if it's just a keysmash (I personally love those, they're hilarious). HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!! <3


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